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Egypt and UAE launch airstrikes on Tripoli

A damaged aircraft on the tarmac at Tripoli International Airport yesterdayAFP/Getty Images

Egypt and the United Arab Emirates secretly launched airstrikes against Islamist militias fighting for control of the Libyan capital last week, in a dramatic escalation of a regional power struggle.

American officials said that Emirati pilots had launched two sets of strikes from Egyptian air bases in an attempt to halt the advance of Islamist fighters seeking to take control of Tripoli’s international airport, according to The New York Times.

The strikes, however, were in vain — and American diplomats were furious when they learnt that such a decision had been taken without any consultation with Washington, which is trying to broker a peaceful resolution to Libya’s spiralling conflict. Egypt denied any involvement, both publicly and in private meetings with American diplomats; Emirati officials offered no…